More
than $15 Million in Coastal Grants will go to 12 States, Interior
Secretary AnnouncesAlabama, Georgia
to receive grants in Southeast

FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 6, 2006

Contacts:Ken Burton, 202-208-5657
Jeffrey
Fleming, 404/679-7287

The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service will award more than $15 million
in grants to 12 states to help conserve, restore and protect coastal
wetlands, Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced today. In the Southeast,
Georgia and Alabama will each receive $928,000 under the National Coastal
Wetlands Conservation Grant Program.

In Alabama , funding from
the grant will help purchase the Point Caddy Wetlands, on
Grand Bay in the Mississippi Sound. In Georgia, the grant money will
contribute to the acquisition of 1,250 acres and 4.5 miles along the
Altamaha River.

Other States to receive funding from the Coastal Grants program in
fiscal year 2006 include Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas and Washington.

The grants provide funding
for 19 projects and will be supplemented with more than $12 million
from state and private partners. The grants are used to acquire, restore
or enhance coastal wetlands for long-term conservation benefits to
wildlife and habitat. Partners in this year’s
projects include state and local governments, private landowners and
conservation groups such as The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited,
Scenic Galveston , Inc., Wildlife Forever Foundation, and many others.

“When people at so many different levels come together in these
kinds of projects, everybody wins,” Norton said. “This is
the kind of effort that makes it possible for us to leave a real legacy
for our children and grandchildren.”

National Coastal Wetlands Conservation grants are awarded to states
through a competitive process. The program is funded under provisions
of the 1990 Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act,
with money generated from excise taxes on fishing equipment and motorboat
and small engine fuels.

“These are win-win projects,” said Service Director Dale
Hall. “I’m very excited when we’re able to leverage
the taxpayer dollar with our partners and get a lot more value for the
money.”

Including the 2006 grants, the Service has awarded more than $165 million
in grants to states and insular areas since the program began; when the
2006 projects are complete, they will have protected, restored or enhanced
about 14,000 acres. A total of more than 200,000 acres will have been
protected or restored since the grant program began.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of
small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69
national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological
services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers
the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores
nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat
such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation
efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes
hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting
equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

Point Caddy Wetlands. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources will purchase 1,730 acres on Grand Bay in the Mississippi Sound
. Another 239 acres are being provided as match. The Grand Bay wetlands
provide habitat to recreationally important fish species like spotted
sea trout, red snapper and red drum and coastal-dependent and migratory
birds.

Partners: The Nature Conservancy of Alabama and the Mobile Bay National
Estuary Program.

Coastal grant:

$928,000

State share:

$745,150

Partners share:

$197,700

Total cost:

$1,870,850

Georgia

Sansavilla Wetlands Acquisition. The Department of Natural Resources
in the State of Georgia will acquire 1,250 acres and 4.5 miles along
the Altamaha River . The Altamaha River Basin is recognized as Western
Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network site and an Important Birding Area
by both the Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy.